Ecosystems
(B3-B75)
Vocabulary:
ecosystem: all the living and nonliving things in an environment, including
their interactions with each other (helps to keep nature in balance)
abiotic factor: a nonliving part of an ecosystem (rock, soil, weather, sunlight)
biotic factor: a living part of an ecosystem (plants, animals, humans, decomposers)
"FWOSS:" every living thing needs food, water, oxygen, space, shelter
ecology: the study of how living and nonliving things interact
population: all the members of ONE species in an area (all deer...all daisies...all
bees)
community: all the living things in an ecosystem (all plants, animals, and
decomposers)
habitat: the place where an organism naturally lives and grows (can get everything it
needs!)
microhabitat: a small habitat (under a log, in a tree)
niche: the role of an organism in a community (think of it as it's "job")
adaptation: a characteristic that enables a living thing to survive in its environment
camouflage: an adaptation in which an animal protects itself against predators by
blending in with the environment
competition: when two organisms compete for something in an ecosystem (food,
water, shelter, space, mate, etc.)
food chain: the path of the energy transferred from one organism to another (one)
food web: the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem (think about the spider web)
sun: the main source of energy in a food chain and food web
organism: any living thing that can carry out its life on its own
producer: any of the plants and algae that produce oxygen and food that animals
need (make their own food....photosynthesis....grass, trees, bushes, seaweed,
algae, plankton, flowers)
photosynthesis: the food-making process in green plants that uses sunlight
consumer: any animal that eats plants or other plant eating animal, they cannot
make their own food
herbivore: an animal that eats plants, algae, and other producers (deer, cows,
grasshopper)
omnivore: an animal that eats both plants and animals (bear, humans)
carnivore: an animal that eats other animals, meat eater
primary consumer: the first consumer of a food chain (either an herbivore or
omnivore but they consume the producer)
secondary consumer: the second consumer of a food chain (either omnivore or
carnivore)
tertiary consumer: the third consumer of a food chain (typically a carnivore)
predator: an animal that HUNTS other animals for food (hawk hunting a mouse)
prey: a living thing that is HUNTED for food (a mouse being hunted by a hawk)
scavenger: a meat-eating animals that feeds on the remains of dead animals
(coyote, hyena, voulchers)
decomposers: any organism that break down dead plants and animals into useful
things like minerals and rich soil (worms, fungi, bacteria)
symbiosis: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that lasts over time
mutualism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits both (the
crocodile and the bird cleaning its teeth...croc gets clean teeth, bird gets food)
parasitism: a relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism and
benefits while the other organism may be harmed (dog/tick, flower/weeds)
parasite: the organism that lives on a host (the tick in the dog/tick symbiosis)
host: the organism a parasite lives in or on (the dog in the dog/tick symbiosis)
commensalism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits one
without harming the other (an orchid growing in a tall palm tree, remoras latching
on to a shark)
energy pyramid: shows that there is more energy at the bottom (producers) than
there is at the top (carnivore/consumers)
limiting factor: anything that controls the growth or survival of a population
carrying capacity: the maximum population size that an area can support
(remember the goldfish in the bowl)
threatened species: a species that is in danger of becoming endangered
endangered species: a species that is in danger of becoming extinct (bald eagle)
extinct species: a species that has died out completely (dinosaurs, dodo bird)
human impact: negative human impact would be through construction of new
homes/buildings, growing cities, pollution, mining; positive human impact would
be reducing, reusing, and recycling
water cycle (again!): the continuous movement of water between Earth's surface
and the air, changing from liquid to gas to liquids
evaporation: the slow changing of a liquid into gas (caused by heat)
condensation: the changing of a gas into a liquid, water vapor cooling, clouds
forming
precipitation: any form of water that falls from the atmosphere to the ground
runoff: precipitation that flows across the land's surface or falls into rivers/streams
groundwater: water that seeps into the ground after precipitation
transpiration: the loss of water through a plant's leaves
carbon cycle: the continuous exchange of carbon dioxide with oxygen among living
things
nitrogen cycle: the continuous flow of nitrogen from the soil to the air
biome: one of Earth's large ecosystems, with its own kind of climate, soil, plants,
and animals
temperate: by adding this to any biome name, it means they are "free" from extreme
temperatures (temperate forest...a forest free from extreme hot or cold)
terrestrial: having to do with the LAND
deciduous forest: a forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves
each autumn (our biome!)
tropical rain forest: a hot biome near the equator, with much rainfall (very humid),
and great diversity (a wide variety of plants and animals...orangutans, toucans,
orchids, ferns)
taiga: a cool forest biome of conifer trees (cone/Christmas type trees) in the upper
Northern Hemisphere
tundra: large, treeless biome in the arctic regions, ground is frozen all year long
(permafrost), bitter cold winters and short summers (we need a "TUN" of clothes!)
grasslands: a biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life, prairies (think
Lion King for an African grassland...key word?? grass!)
desert: a sandy or rocky biome with little precipitation and little plant life (cacti,
reptiles)
aquatic: having to do with water (either fresh, salt or brackish)
lakes/pond: freshwater biomes
salt marshes: salt water biomes located near the coast
estuaries: a biome that is near the coast and is made of salt water but also has a
freshwater source (river/stream) flowing into it, this is a brackish water biome
brackish water: a mixture of fresh water and salt water (found in an estuary)
ocean: a salt water biome, great diversity of life
coral reef: a smaller biome located in the ocean near warmer waters, home to a
great diversity of creatures, need sunlight to grow and prosper)
plankton: organisms that float on the water in aquatic ecosystems
Remember too that animals can help plants reproduce by carrying their seeds (intentionally or accidentally) and dropping them along the way.
Also remember to be able to identify what happens if an organism is removed from a food chain/food web. What is effected directly? What is effected indirectly?
(B3-B75)
Vocabulary:
ecosystem: all the living and nonliving things in an environment, including
their interactions with each other (helps to keep nature in balance)
abiotic factor: a nonliving part of an ecosystem (rock, soil, weather, sunlight)
biotic factor: a living part of an ecosystem (plants, animals, humans, decomposers)
"FWOSS:" every living thing needs food, water, oxygen, space, shelter
ecology: the study of how living and nonliving things interact
population: all the members of ONE species in an area (all deer...all daisies...all
bees)
community: all the living things in an ecosystem (all plants, animals, and
decomposers)
habitat: the place where an organism naturally lives and grows (can get everything it
needs!)
microhabitat: a small habitat (under a log, in a tree)
niche: the role of an organism in a community (think of it as it's "job")
adaptation: a characteristic that enables a living thing to survive in its environment
camouflage: an adaptation in which an animal protects itself against predators by
blending in with the environment
competition: when two organisms compete for something in an ecosystem (food,
water, shelter, space, mate, etc.)
food chain: the path of the energy transferred from one organism to another (one)
food web: the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem (think about the spider web)
sun: the main source of energy in a food chain and food web
organism: any living thing that can carry out its life on its own
producer: any of the plants and algae that produce oxygen and food that animals
need (make their own food....photosynthesis....grass, trees, bushes, seaweed,
algae, plankton, flowers)
photosynthesis: the food-making process in green plants that uses sunlight
consumer: any animal that eats plants or other plant eating animal, they cannot
make their own food
herbivore: an animal that eats plants, algae, and other producers (deer, cows,
grasshopper)
omnivore: an animal that eats both plants and animals (bear, humans)
carnivore: an animal that eats other animals, meat eater
primary consumer: the first consumer of a food chain (either an herbivore or
omnivore but they consume the producer)
secondary consumer: the second consumer of a food chain (either omnivore or
carnivore)
tertiary consumer: the third consumer of a food chain (typically a carnivore)
predator: an animal that HUNTS other animals for food (hawk hunting a mouse)
prey: a living thing that is HUNTED for food (a mouse being hunted by a hawk)
scavenger: a meat-eating animals that feeds on the remains of dead animals
(coyote, hyena, voulchers)
decomposers: any organism that break down dead plants and animals into useful
things like minerals and rich soil (worms, fungi, bacteria)
symbiosis: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that lasts over time
mutualism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits both (the
crocodile and the bird cleaning its teeth...croc gets clean teeth, bird gets food)
parasitism: a relationship in which one organism lives in or on another organism and
benefits while the other organism may be harmed (dog/tick, flower/weeds)
parasite: the organism that lives on a host (the tick in the dog/tick symbiosis)
host: the organism a parasite lives in or on (the dog in the dog/tick symbiosis)
commensalism: a relationship between two kinds of organisms that benefits one
without harming the other (an orchid growing in a tall palm tree, remoras latching
on to a shark)
energy pyramid: shows that there is more energy at the bottom (producers) than
there is at the top (carnivore/consumers)
limiting factor: anything that controls the growth or survival of a population
carrying capacity: the maximum population size that an area can support
(remember the goldfish in the bowl)
threatened species: a species that is in danger of becoming endangered
endangered species: a species that is in danger of becoming extinct (bald eagle)
extinct species: a species that has died out completely (dinosaurs, dodo bird)
human impact: negative human impact would be through construction of new
homes/buildings, growing cities, pollution, mining; positive human impact would
be reducing, reusing, and recycling
water cycle (again!): the continuous movement of water between Earth's surface
and the air, changing from liquid to gas to liquids
evaporation: the slow changing of a liquid into gas (caused by heat)
condensation: the changing of a gas into a liquid, water vapor cooling, clouds
forming
precipitation: any form of water that falls from the atmosphere to the ground
runoff: precipitation that flows across the land's surface or falls into rivers/streams
groundwater: water that seeps into the ground after precipitation
transpiration: the loss of water through a plant's leaves
carbon cycle: the continuous exchange of carbon dioxide with oxygen among living
things
nitrogen cycle: the continuous flow of nitrogen from the soil to the air
biome: one of Earth's large ecosystems, with its own kind of climate, soil, plants,
and animals
temperate: by adding this to any biome name, it means they are "free" from extreme
temperatures (temperate forest...a forest free from extreme hot or cold)
terrestrial: having to do with the LAND
deciduous forest: a forest biome with many kinds of trees that lose their leaves
each autumn (our biome!)
tropical rain forest: a hot biome near the equator, with much rainfall (very humid),
and great diversity (a wide variety of plants and animals...orangutans, toucans,
orchids, ferns)
taiga: a cool forest biome of conifer trees (cone/Christmas type trees) in the upper
Northern Hemisphere
tundra: large, treeless biome in the arctic regions, ground is frozen all year long
(permafrost), bitter cold winters and short summers (we need a "TUN" of clothes!)
grasslands: a biome where grasses, not trees, are the main plant life, prairies (think
Lion King for an African grassland...key word?? grass!)
desert: a sandy or rocky biome with little precipitation and little plant life (cacti,
reptiles)
aquatic: having to do with water (either fresh, salt or brackish)
lakes/pond: freshwater biomes
salt marshes: salt water biomes located near the coast
estuaries: a biome that is near the coast and is made of salt water but also has a
freshwater source (river/stream) flowing into it, this is a brackish water biome
brackish water: a mixture of fresh water and salt water (found in an estuary)
ocean: a salt water biome, great diversity of life
coral reef: a smaller biome located in the ocean near warmer waters, home to a
great diversity of creatures, need sunlight to grow and prosper)
plankton: organisms that float on the water in aquatic ecosystems
Remember too that animals can help plants reproduce by carrying their seeds (intentionally or accidentally) and dropping them along the way.
Also remember to be able to identify what happens if an organism is removed from a food chain/food web. What is effected directly? What is effected indirectly?